Press Release
November 8, 2007

Washington, DC…In a statement issued on Thursday, November 8,
2007, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein said:

“I welcome the Inspector General’s recommendations included in
the ‘Audit of the Process of Safeguarding and Accounting for Presidential
Library Artifacts’. This audit which was completed on October 26, 2007,
examined the management of Presidential artifacts at six Presidential Libraries: The
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, the John F. Kennedy Library, the Gerald R. Ford
Library, the Ronald Reagan Library, the George Bush Library, and the William
J. Clinton Library.

In the audit, the Office of the Inspector General recommended:

An initial physical inventory should be conducted within a reasonable amount
of time with follow-up inventories on a recurring basis;

Adding certain enhancements to the data base used by libraries for cataloguing
and managing their artifact collections to improve management controls;

Developing policy and procedures for de-accessioning artifacts that do
not warrant continuing preservation;

Identifying and ranking artifacts that are in need of preservation;

Completion of a 100% inventory of the Reagan collection that would then
be compared to the original White House Gift Unit data base. Also recommended
improving internal controls for monitoring the artifact collection at the
Reagan Library and the installation of appropriate storage media, such
as shelving and cabinets designed to protect artifacts in case of a seismic
event.

The National Archives encouraged the Inspector General’s office to perform
this audit. These artifacts are a very important part of the preservation
of our national heritage and I endorse the recommendations in the final report. For
the past decade, we have been working to incorporate new technologies and greater
management controls into the protocols at each of the libraries and have recruited
trained professionals to manage today’s collections at the Presidential
libraries.

Early collections of artifacts came to Presidential Libraries with few controls
and incomplete information relating to the collections. Compounded by
limited resources within the libraries, it has been difficult to complete 100%
inventories on the more than 500,000 items that comprise the collections at
all of the libraries. The Presidential libraries have sought to manage
the risks through complete inventories of gifts from foreign heads of state
and the establishment of annual reviews of valuable and vulnerable items.

The audit cites particular issues at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley,
CA. We acknowledge that problems exist in inventory control at the Reagan Library. The
count of 100,000 artifacts was an estimate extrapolated from the original Reagan
White House Gift Unit data base. The Gift Unit data included tens of
thousands of items that were sent to charity, identified as consumables or
otherwise not transferred to the National Archives. Many of the entries
in the White House data base consisted of multiple objects, such as the tea
cups and saucers, but were recorded as one item – a tea service. The
Library used all of this information to make an educated estimate of the number
of artifacts for determining storage space needs. This data was never intended
to be used as a concrete inventory control number.

The Reagan Library has already begun implementing the Inspector General’s
recommendations by creating a plan. To carry out this plan, the Library
has upgraded its management inventory software, is hiring additional trained
museum staff, has begun a 100% inventory, and is addressing the storage issues
by working to purchase earthquake protection materials and re-shelving artifacts.
Like all of the Presidential Libraries, the Reagan Library stores their gifts
in a locked vault which is protected by a security camera.

Five of the twelve Presidential Libraries have now completed 100% inventories
of their entire artifact collections. Presidential Libraries have worked
within budget constraints to affect changes in artifact management and to contain
risk. New procedures were established in 1998 to provide extensive controls
over Presidential gifts given to sitting Presidents. These procedures,
with modifications to incorporate new technologies, have been in place throughout
the current Presidential administration. This will provide the National
Archives with a full catalog of artifacts that will enable extensive management
controls from the inception of the library. Additionally, all artifacts
and gifts received from the White House by the Library’s curatorial unit
are housed with appropriate care to ensure their physical security and preservation.

Changing from paper-based cataloging systems to specialized collections management
data base systems are challenging to any museum. Populating these systems
with data that reflects the full depth of the accumulated textual documentation
on collections is a lengthy process. As part of our legacy cataloging projects
at the libraries, we are working to resolve longstanding inventory issues stemming
from inaccurate and unconfirmed records that existed at the time of transfer
of the collections. Completion of these projects and a 100% inventory of
our collections along with digital images of our high value items is a high priority
for the National Archives.”

About The Presidential Libraries: The National Archives and
Records Administration administers twelve Presidential Libraries, representing
U.S. Presidents from Herbert Hoover through Bill Clinton. These are not libraries
in the usual sense. They are archives and museums, preserving the written record
and physical history of our Presidents, while providing special programs and
exhibitions that serve their communities. The libraries are built with
private money and then deeded over to the National Archives to be held in trust
for the American people.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.